


Christmas is a time for gifts and cuddles

by indecisivemess



Category: Original Work
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Dont even look at my son weird or ill stomp you with my hooves, Extremely self indulging, F/M, First time visits, Is that how the reference goes?, Non-Sexual Age Play, Queerplatonic Relationships, There's littles involved, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Male Character, much cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:28:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indecisivemess/pseuds/indecisivemess
Summary: When Isaac told her he had a surprise for her, her first instinct was to scream at him because he knew how much she hated surprises. But maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 8





	Christmas is a time for gifts and cuddles

**Author's Note:**

> I literally dont know. Just turning into a reality what i wont be able to have.

Jo wondered how this was actually the first time she would step into Isa’s house. For the record, they had known each other for long enough for her parents to trust her to do that, or, at least, they should, considering the facts. They still thought Isaac was a girl, for one, and as much as that bothered Jo, coiling in the bottom of her stomach and making her want to throw up, she was aware there would be much more complications if she tried to fight them.

She did live nearby, in a cheaper area of the town, and she was more than used to walking big distances. Her stubbornness about not wanting to have a car, nor taking the driver’s license, truly felt childish sometimes, but she was sure that, if she did have a car, she would have crushed it against a tree by now from how nervous she was. So this was the best for everybody involved. Or she hoped it was.

The sky was dark despite it being morning, the sun completely hidden through the thick wall of storm clouds. The weather forecast had said that the storm would only come around tomorrow, but judging by the humidity in the air and the heavy winds, she was concerned it would hit before she managed to get to her location.

Jo looked down at her phone, where the giant arrow pointed her around a path Goggle Maps had picked out for her. She had managed to take a wrong turn several times, actually confusing her GPS so much it had to recalibrate for a whole minute, but she was confident she would get there. Isa had given her some directions too, so this should be a piece of cake!

It would still take her around 15 minutes to get there, so in the meantime, Jo just imagined how his house would look like. She knew from their conversations that it had two floors, at least. It had been his grandma’s house or whatever it was, her memory a bit foggy, and he constantly referred to it as a mansion, so it must be wide and imposing. The image slowly formed in her mind, most of her focus shifting to that, to the point she almost ran right into a lamp post. Blinking her eyes rapidly as she patted her chest over her heart, she looked back at the object and felt her cheeks flush from embarrassment. “Pay more attention to where you’re going, you idiot!”, a voice hissed in her head, and she just sighed, nodding to herself.

The arrow beeped and the app said something over her music, confusing her ears. As Jo peeked down at the screen to clear some of the mess, she noticed she was closer than she imagined she would be, noticing she would only need to walk straight ahead and she would be there. Except, it wasn’t exactly straight ahead, more on the lines of walking up a small hill. The road in front of her was dangerously inclined, lined with parked cars on both sides. The houses around her all looked fairly expensive, and that made her grip at her necklace, wondering if her clothes looked too cheap for this neighborhood. The chilled air froze her lungs , and part of her nerves, and she braced herself as she started going up the street, wincing at the strain she could already feel. She really should have just taken an uber, shouldn’t she. Or at least she could have brought one of those big umbrellas to support her weight. She was already regretting all of her choices.

Somehow, she managed to get up the hill, bending forward and gripping at her thighs as her legs yelled in protest. That hurt so bad, fuck. She took a shaky breath, keeping the tears away as she focused on shifting her weight around to ease her pain. “Just walk slow and steady. It will be okay”, she couched herself, forcing her hands to her hips as she straightened her back. Her bag jiggled and trashed at her movements, reminding her of the weight she was carrying, and she had to take another breath to calm herself down, changing her positing to put the most weight she could on her feet, instead of her legs.

Once she deemed herself rested, she took a step forward, immediately regretting it as her legs wobbled, and the familiar sound of her bones popping reached her ears. The whine she let out was too loud, and her hands flew to grip at the juncture of her legs with her pelvis. She could hear her heavy breathing, her mind yelling curses at her, and she ignored it the best she could as she looked around, spotting a sturdy looking tree and carefully walking up to it, resting her bag against it as she leaned her weight back. The change was noticeable right away, and she sighed in relief, looking up at the rattling leaves over her head. Jo actually took a moment to rest this time, doing some stretches to ease her pain. The people that passed by her looked at her like she was crazy, but that was nothing new. At least none of them bothered to spit something in her direction this time.

Now truly better, she took a small and cautious step forward, ignoring the burn she could still feel and picking up her pace again. The houses passed her eyes and she carefully examined each one, checking her map more than once to see the directions. Her sixth sense tingled, a happy tickle just under her heart, and when she looked ahead, she knew that was his house.

It was bigger than she had expected, and she had imagined it to be already enormous. But then again, anything would be big when compared to the tiny apartment where she lived. Jo carefully approached it, the music in her ears muffling as she inspected its surroundings, the mansion seemingly impending over her. Google Maps suddenly spoke up, ripping a squeak out of her by simply announcing she had reached her destination. She angrily stared at her phone, rapidly closing that cursed app, and stomped the rest of the way up to the front door, her nerves quickly backing full force as she stood before the front door.

Jo rubbed her cold and trembling hands against one another, a fleeting anxious thought making her question if this was really the right house. Her sixth sense was rarely wrong, and the Maps had beeped when she was just around the corner, so this had to be it. And if it wasn’t, she could only know by knocking on the door. So she did just that, taking a deep breath and closing her fist firmly, rasping it against the thick wood. She carefully took a step back, so whoever on the other side could see her face better through the peephole, but not even a second after she had knocked, there was a rushed sound, like bare foot running against the floor, and she was sure she had heard a squeal before the door was thrown open.

She tried to not flinch as the light from inside suddenly showered over her, the rapid change making her sore eyes burn. Jo barely had the time to see who was at the door before the person was grabbing her arm and tugging her inside the house, keeping her arms pinned to her sides as they hugged her tightly. The panic was quickly rising up her throat as this person nuzzled their head right into her chest, sharp spikes of disgust stabbing through her pounding heart, but the small purr that they emitted sorted out her options, and she slapped her silly self mentally as she checked the top of his head, the roots of his hair shining a golden blonde.

\- H-hi – her voice sounded raspy from the cold air, so she tried clearing it before trying again. – Hi.

There was a chuckle and then his head was moving, resting his chin lightly against her chest to look up at her.

\- Hi – he replied back, dragging out the word for longer than necessary.

Jo shook her head and smiled gently, awkwardly reaching for him. Her arms were barely around him, but she patted her back still, feeling him pressing closer to her somehow.

\- O-okay now – she giggled nervously and wiggled a little to loosen his hold. – Could you please not choke me?

Isaac looked up at her with his mismatched eyes, and only then did she noticed he wasn’t wearing his contact lenses to hide their colors. Must be a good day, then.

\- Sorry – he said anyways, slowly letting go of her.

The woman visibly relaxed, very close to being overwhelmed from the sudden affections, but rapidly tensed up again, noticing how his eyes checked her up and down without reservation. Her cheeks flushed slightly, taking in the possible innocent staring as curiosity, and unconsciously smoothed the skirt of her new dress.

\- Like what you see? – she asked, her tone coming out more flirty than she intended to.

Immediately his eyes snapped back to hers, only for a second, before looking at the ground. He only whined in response, and her teasing nature soothed her nervousness a little, an easy smile coming to her lips.

\- Hey, I’m sorry – she carefully reached for him, rubbing his arm. She searched for his look, slightly leaning down to peek at his face, but he kept his gaze down. – I was genuinely asking, kitten.

Isa’s eyes suddenly shone, his expressions easing out as he stared at her chin, frantically nodding his head.

\- You look very nice, ma- -his mouth quickly clasped shut, his bottom lip stuck between his teeth for a moment. – You just look very nice.

His hand came up to scratch at the side of his neck, and Jo gently reached for it, knowing of his nervous tick. His cheeks gained a nice rosy color, spreading up to his ears from how pale he was.

\- Thank you – she smiled shyly, holding his hand in a way that was easy for him to deny. – L-Let’s go to your room?

His cheeks only got redder, and the mortifying implications of her words only settled in when he was already taking her up the stairs, her face paling slightly as she felt the strong grip of his hand. Isa’s excitement gave him energy, it seemed like, and Jo barely had time to check her surroundings as he just tugged her to follow him. The colors passed through her eyes in a blur, their covered feet against the wooden floor shaking her whole body up to her soul, and the dread settled in the pit of her stomach, for reasons she preferred not to think about.

The hinges of the door whined sharply as Isaac pushed against it, presenting her to the mess that was his room. It didn’t look like he had tried to clean it at all, and Jo wasn’t totally sure how to feel about that, the unfamiliar place mixed with the disorganization making her head spin. She trailed behind, taking in as much as she could to give her mind some type of reassurance. Her gaze was glued to his bed, frowning at how close to the ceiling it was positioned, when something soft brushed against her leg, making her jump out of her skin.

She must have let out some sort of noise, because then Isa was practically running back to her, or rather, after the cat that was looking her up and down.

\- Luna! – he said eagerly, rubbing his thumb against his fingers, and watching with a small smile as the kitten went up to him, letting him pet her head.

\- She’s, uhm, a lot bigger than I imagined.

Jo had seen pictures of all of Isa’s cats before. A lot of them, including videos and tiktoks her partner made of them. He had constantly tried to make size comparisons, so she would realize just how big they actually were, but it never really clicked in her mind that they would be like _this_.

\- I told you.

She giggled weakly, her eyes watching as Luna strolled across the room, the pet’s gaze never leaving the new intruder, with that mix of mild annoyance and curiosity every animal seemed to direct at her.

\- She’s a good kitty – Isa said, suddenly much closer. – She won’t bite you if I’m around.

His voice was getting childish, slightly squeaky, the excitement still there, behind it all. His words did absolutely nothing to reassure Jo, who could still feel the cat’s stare pinned on her from across the room.

\- If you say so – she replied anyways, wanting to trust him.

Her hand came up to grasp at her necklace again, only realizing she was fiddling with it when she saw Isa looking at it.

\- W-What?

His eyes were on hers instantly, slightly wider than usual, almost unblinking.

\- You’re nervous.

\- Uhm – she huffed, gripping her necklace tighter. – Yea? That’s kind of... I’m kinda nervous all the time.

\- No- ye, I know – he brought his right hand up, but kept it close to himself, clearly waiting for permission to touch her. – More nervous than usual.

His stand told her there were words left unsaid, doubts clinging to his heart. Jo tried muffling down her anxieties by carefully reaching her free hand to pet his hair, the other never leaving her necklace. He visibly relaxed, but his expressions were still doubtful.

\- It’s not on you, baby, I promise. – she wanted to take a step closer, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle the emotions that would burst out of her if she did that. – Master is being silly.

\- No! – he shouted, obviously angry for a second until he saw her flinching from the sudden change of tone, his shoulders hunching forward in fear. – I-I’m sorry, I’m sorry-

\- Shh – she cooed, pushing him closer by the hand that still held his head. Her heart burned uncomfortably, even if his presence wasn’t unpleasant, and she wondered if the caffeine was messing with her again.

Isa nodded very slowly, wrapping his arms around her and shifting around to press his face into her shoulder. That was much better than their hug before, and Jo focused on the positive feelings, on the softness of his hair, on the way he smelled.

\- It’s a new place – she said when she could feel a bit more relaxed. – I’m always nervous when I come to places I’ve never been before. And, uhm, how should I say this... animals usually don’t really like me, for some reason.

His hair fell in front of his eyes as he moved his head to look up at her, but she quickly cut him off.

\- I’m not saying it’s the case with Luna, but I’ve been attacked by dogs and cats too many times to not be at least a bit careful.

Defeatedly, the kitten nodded and nuzzled back into her shoulder, the bad feelings sinking into his heart anyways.

\- But I didn’t come here for that – she was pulling away, and his eyes widened in horror, a whine stuck on his throat until he felt her fluffy gloves against his cheeks, the way she leaned closer to him making his cheeks flush. – You said you had a surprise for me?

He nodded enthusiastically, moving his hands up to grip at her wrists, but then felt conflicted, not wanting to move away from her soft touch.

\- I really don’t like surprises – she pressured in an amused tone, stretching out her smile to not seem ungrateful.

\- You’ll like this one, I promise.

His whole stand radiated exhilaration, and seeing him like this was enough to make Jo excited as well. The colors seemed brighter, and her heart felt warm with contentment, her hands still cupping his cheeks like she was holding the most precious thing in the whole universe.

Until she felt the brush of his lips on hers. It was the lightest thing, barely counting as a kiss, and then he was fleeing to retreat the huge box of stuff he had gotten her. For once, all of her thoughts came to a halt, and that only made her head feel fuller with everything that had stopped running around. Her face felt hot, her pounding heart suffocating her. She needed to sit down.

In the meantime, Isaac had his back turned to her, his lips tingling as he pushed and shoved clothes and other things out of the way to reach up his box, trying really hard to not hear the thoughts that popped into his own head. Kisses made him feel safe. Kisses were good. And they had talked about this before and she didn’t seem opposed to them. So it was probably okay. Yea.

The box was fairly light, a product of a whole day of shopping through thick crowds and rude people, but it was worth it. His master deserved everything that he was holding and much more.

He spinned around in place, almost hugging the box. Jo wasn’t on the spot he expected her too, and the confusion barely turned into panic until he saw she was sitting on his chair by the computer. Her pale hands were out of her gloves, covering her chubby cheeks in an attempt to cool them down, but it didn’t seem to be working. That made Isa snort, practically skipping up to her and suddenly dropping to the floor, his butt hitting the floor with a bit too much force than he had predicted.

\- Are you okay?! – Jo immediately said, her hands flying away from her cheeks to reach out in his direction, worry smushed all over her face.

He chuckled in that cute way of his and shifted the box in his lap, looking up at her as he tried really hard to ignore the flair of pain that shot up his spine.

\- Yea. I did that on purpose.

Jo visibly sighed in relief, resting a hand over her heart as she slowly slipped out of the chair and sat on the floor in front of him. Her partner followed her movements with lost eyes, and then he was blepping at her, blinking a few times. She sat cross legged, her dress falling in between her knees to cover herself and to keep her warm, and only after she deemed her comfort adequate did she realize Isa was staring at her.

\- What? – suddenly her whole stand was nervous again, and oh god, can you just stop freaking out for a second.

\- Ah, no- just... why are you on the floor?

\- Why are _you_ on the floor?

\- Hmm, fair point.

Isaac just shrugged and drummed his fingers over the top of the presents, waiting for his master to realize what was happening. Jo simply stared at him for a moment, letting her eyes travel from his face to the box and then back up, until an idea crossed her mind, almost making her jump back to her feet.

\- Baby, please tell me that isn’t-

He cut her off with a giggle, but you could tell his resolve was quickly melting, just as quickly as he was starting to regret this.

\- I... I don’t even know what to say – her hand moved up to rub at her face, and then hesitantly reached for the box. – Can... can I have it, please?

She got no verbal answer, suddenly having to be ready to receive what was thrown in her way. It was surprisingly lighter than she expected, for its size, and it sounded like it was full to the brim, from how opaque the noise was when it hit her.

\- Can I-

\- Yes. Please.

His tone was desperate, and he was starting to bounce from pent up energy. He wanted to see her reaction to what he got her, and he wanted that right now. Jo, on the other hand, was extremely nervous to open it up, despite it looking like a simple cardboard box, with no wrapping paper around it. She hadn’t even imagined he would spend actual money on her, feeling really bad now for only working on an extremely silly collage of pictures of her in different hoodies to gift him.

Nonetheless, her hands moved slowly, opening the tabs, and immediately feeling a gasp ripping out of her when her eyes landed on the neatly folded ace flag. She reached for it with careful gestures, picking it up, and slowly letting it fall open to show all the stripes in their full glory. So many emotions overcame her, but right now, they were mostly positive. She was aware she had gone quiet, petting the flag like she didn’t believe it was really there, and then everything was blurry.

\- M-Master? – Isa spoke softly, clearly not expecting this reaction, and very wrongly reading the situation.

The tears rolled down her cheeks as she moved to look up at him, and her body trembled against her will as she hugged the flag up to her chest. She tried to reach out for him, but the box got in the way, almost spilling its contents all over her kitten, so she rapidly clang to it instead of what she wanted to do. Isa moved to hold the box as well, shyly resting his hands over hers.

\- Did you not like it? – his voice was weak and uncertain. – I-I can hand it back to the store if-

The box fell against the wood with a barely perceptible sound, as Jo moved around to hug him. Her knees scrapped against the floor in a very uncomfortable way, so she sat back over her feet, bringing her partner with her, almost pulling him into her lap.

\- Happy tears – was all she said, sniffing and rubbing the wetness away with her sleeves. – I’m sorry I scared you, baby.

He hummed, nuzzling into her hair, and let the smell of her shampoo calm him down. She always smelled so nice. A soft purr vibrated in his chest, and he heard his master giggling before her hand was petting the back of his head.

\- You really like me, huh?

She could feel her kitten already trashing around to confirm that, but she kept him close, only chuckling a bit.

\- Nope, rhetorical question. I know how much you like me.

\- Love.

\- Hmm?

\- How... much I love you – he untangled his face from her soft hair to peek at her with wide, adorable eyes. – You got it wrong.

Not expecting that reaction at all, however, Jo felt her face quickly burning from embarrassment, the need to hide assaulting her.

\- D-Don’t tease me!

\- I’m not!

He didn’t look upset, so there’s that, but he was trying to crawl up to her lap with all of his will power, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he was.

\- Baby- stay still-

A sharp whine cut her off, but he stopped pushing, untangling from her. A pout was set in place already, and his arms came over his chest, tangling over each other.

\- Kitten, don’t look at me like that – Jo said in reply, her tone calm and clearly not angry.

Isa still tightened his position, turning slightly away from her. So, in a brilliant moment of problem solving, the woman decided to mock him, copying him to the detail. Out of the corner of his eye, her kitten blinked a couple of times as he looked at her, a smile curling the corners of his lips before it slowly, very slowly, started to fall, in a very unnatural looking way. His arms loosened slightly, Jo noticed as well, and the way his gaze stared emptily straight ahead tickled her in an unpleasant way. Before she noticed, she was scooting closer to him, gently resting a hand on his shoulder. There was no reaction to her touch, not even a movement to look at her, and that only made her sense of unease grown.

\- Isa... I-I was just joking, I’m sorry.

Almost forcefully, he slowly moved his head to look at her, but he didn’t look sad like she expected him to, just seeming extremely neutral, if it wasn’t for the frown in his brows from concentration. He blinked slowly, moving his hand to grip at her jacket.

Jo watched him in extreme confusion, noticing how his eyes went back to looking unfocused. She felt like he had wanted to tell her something, his grip firm on her, and the woman wondered if this was how it usually went when he was going nonverbal.

She couldn’t be more wrong, however. Isaac’s consciousness was slipping, a war inside his head. Everyone wanted to front today, for some reason, and that just made him mad. They were being more stubborn than usual too, fucking hell. It was supposed to be his day with Jo, not theirs. His vision was fogged up, his hearing muffled like he was underwater. He knew his master was touching him, but also wasn’t aware of that fact somehow, his body feeling extremely light. The world around him didn’t feel real, almost like he was inside a bowl of jelly. 

Jo wasn’t sure for how long he stayed still. She would check the hours, wouldn’t it be for the hold he still kept on her. She had passed the freaking out mark a long time ago, and now was just concerned. They interacted mostly through text, so something like this wasn’t something she was necessarily prepared for, and she regretted that just a tiny bit. She wanted to reach out, pet his hair and comfort him enough for him to talk to her again, but that didn’t feel like the right choice, for some reason.

The empty eyes staring right at hers were definitely more unnerving than she had ever imagined, so she looked away for a moment, noticing how Luna was still judging her every move, still on the same spot from the last time she had looked at the pet. Something on the back of her mind told her the cat was a sign, its stand an important clue for what was happening. If Luna hadn’t moved closer to them, then that meant Isaac was alright. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t something necessarily bad, or his service cat would be acting in some way to snap him out of it.

Memories of the messages he had sent her in the early hours of the morning made her heart feel heavy, her expressions falling. She was so focused on that, on the guilt she felt for not knowing how to help, that she didn’t even notice the system in front of her had sorted it out, child blinking eyes staring at her like she was the world. The one that had won was more than aware that Isaac didn’t really need a break right now, but he also hadn’t taken control in a really long time, and Jo was really here with them! How could he not do that?

\- Mama! – was all she heard before Isa’s body was tackling her, the sudden attack ripping a squeak out of her as she fell backwards, the weight on her never faltering.

Her back hitting the wooden floor was not as painfully as she expected, but the warm pressure against her figure was definitely something she wanted as far away from her as possible. The involuntary whimper she let out troubled Liam greatly, however, and then he was skittering away, his shoulders hunched over as he sat up.

\- I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry, mama...

\- Wait – she looked at him and clumsily moved to sit up as well, watching as the person in front of her seemed to shrink more into himself. Her pounding heart made it hard to breathe, her body still processing the scare, but her mind was quickly catching up. Only one person called her mama. – Liam?

The one and only peeked at her with confusion clear in his eyes, and nodded very slowly. The bad thoughts started pouring in, and he whimpered as his hands came up to cover his head. Just don’t hit me, please.

\- I... – the hands that she had reached out for him dropped back to her sides, and she kept her distance. – I wasn’t going to... did I ever, do that?

\- Ah, no! – Liam quickly rushed out. – I just- I don’t know.

It was very obvious that he did know, by the way he shrug and looked away, but Jo decided to drop the subject, carefully reaching out and petting his head.

\- Is there a reason you are out? – she smiled warmly, trying to not sound accusatory. – I mean, nothing went wrong, right?

\- Nh-nh – he shook his head, not taking his soft eyes away from her.

\- Alright – the smile didn’t leave her face, as she reached one of her hands to rub under her glasses.

\- Just uh, don’t cry again. Please.

Jo stared at him, almost in shock, but her features quickly softened.

\- So that’s the reason – she giggled, and gently pulled Liam into her lap.

The little kid squeaked quietly, staying very still until she stopped adjusting him around. Part of him was afraid she’d push him off, laughing it off as a trick, but she never did any of that, keeping her arms loosely around him.

\- M-Mama is so lucky to have such a caring kiddo in her life.

Liam was more than overjoyed. A wide smile pulled at his lips, and then he was nuzzling into her chest, widening his eyes in awe.

\- You’re so soft. And squishy.

He curiously cuddled closer to her, his arms coming around her torso, and hugging mama was ten times better than he had ever imagined. Everywhere he rested against her was cushioned, not too stiff, but not too mushy either. And she was warm too. It was more than perfect.

Her silence was slightly unnerving, though, so he peeked up at her, hoping this wasn’t bothering her, and was met with the reddest face he had ever seen. His inquiring eyes didn’t look away from her, his finger coming up to boop her cheek, and the way his mama only blushed harder was funny enough to have him giggling.

\- Why are you so red??

\- You, just sound so happy – she said a bit strained, her face hiding against the top of his head. – Which makes me happy. And I blush when I’m happy.

\- Oh okay – giggles punctuated the end of the sentence, and then he was humming, soft vibrations reaching her heart. – Did you like our gift?

\- Oh uhm – she was moving under him, and that was kinda funny as well. – I just peeked at it right when you decided to show up, kiddo.

Her voice wasn’t accusatory, or particularly mad, but it still made Liam feel like crap, his body weight resting more firmly against her.

\- ‘m sorry.

\- Ah, no! – suddenly, mama was squeezing him, her way of apologizing. – That’s not what I meant, dear. I meant, I can’t tell if I like it or not cuz I didn’t get a good look at it yet.

That didn’t seem to make it any better, so, just to be sure, Jo reached on of her hands to pet his hair gently, leaning down to nuzzle their foreheads together. It was the weirdest position, and it kinda made her neck hurt, but she didn’t care.

\- Did you help Isa choose the gifts?

\- Mhm – he nodded, but tried to not move too much at the same time, enjoying how close to him mama was.

Jo broke into a wide smile, her hands slipping down to rub his back. Somehow, only then did it click for her that this was really happening. That Liam was here. That he actually liked her, and wasn’t just pretending to shut her up. I mean, he was a kid, and she had witnessed more than once that if he really wanted to be straight forward, he would, but it was still nice to see that happening in real life, and not through a screen.

\- You did very good – her voice was soft, and the happiness bursting through her chest was almost bringing back the tears to her eyes. – I have such a good kiddo.

That seemed to make Liam extremely happy, by the way his eyes shone, and how he shifted around and cuddled closer to her, and that made Jo’s heart warm up even more.

\- Thank you, mama.

\- Aww, no problem – her smile was starting to make her cheeks hurt, but she couldn’t will herself to stop. – My good kiddo.

Liam let out a high pitched sound, clearly joyful, and it looked like he was melting from how happy he was getting. The sight made Jo laugh quietly, the corners of her eyes squinting just as she did so, and the little kid almost wanted to reach out and touch the small wrinkles.

\- I looooove you – he say truthfully, watching as her cheeks tainted pink, her laughter dying down.

\- Oh uhm – a small smile stayed behind, and she gently cradled him in her arms, nuzzling to the top of his head. – I-I love you too. More than anything.

\- Yay! – the giggles burst out of him easily and then Jo’s heart was melting again.

She doesn’t know for how long they stayed like that. The house made its own noises, the wind picking up strength outside. It howled through the smallest cracks and whined its way between the boars, but Jo tried to ignore it, keeping Liam as close to her as she could. She also noticed that, after a while, the touch wasn’t so overwhelming as it was in the beginning, and her touch starved side rapidly clawed out to make sure her kiddo couldn’t move away an inch. The little kid didn’t seem to mind her sudden possessiveness, so he just let her hold him, enjoying this for as long as it lasted.

**Author's Note:**

> To my partner. I freaking love you, but if you knew how much it took me to change your name to isaac after you told me about that-


End file.
